This blog is totally independent, unpaid and has only three major objectives.
The first is to inform readers of news and happenings in the e-Health domain, both here in Australia and world-wide.
The second is to provide commentary on e-Health in Australia and to foster improvement where I can.
The third is to encourage discussion of the matters raised in the blog so hopefully readers can get a balanced view of what is really happening and what successes are being achieved.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

It Seems Others Agree With Me That Mr Dutton Was A Dud Health Minister.

Just after the Pre-Christmas Cabinet Re-Shuffle I gave Mr Dutton an F- for his performance in E-Health.

“If nothing else the poll results show that Mr Dutton rubbed up people the wrong way,” says Australian Doctor’s deputy editor, Paul Smith. “There is a lot of anger at the way the cuts he announced target general practice funding alone. Most people recognise that the real cost pressures on Medicare are largely in the hospital system.

The week before Christmas came the media release announcing Tony Abbott’s cabinet reboot and with it, a new office for Mr Dutton in the immigration department.

Mr Dutton leaves behind many questions, among them whether he was Australia's worst federal health minister.

There may be candidates whose efforts in pursuit of the dishonour go too far back in time, or whose tenure was too short. But Mr Dutton was around long enough — just over a year — to at least make a claim.

For many, he will stand as an anti-health minister, someone intent on loyally serving nothing but the narrowest of party interests, rather than taking on the laborious task of fixing the dysfunctions of the health system.

The clues were there during his time as Opposition health spokesperson. He rarely troubled the democratic process by putting a parliamentary questions to the health minister of the day — whether that was Nicola Roxon or Tanya Plibersek.

This was meant to be the period of great reform.

Such dormancy on the floor of the house eventually became a running joke around the corridors of Canberra. How was he filling his days?

It is true that he did turn up on the health conference circuit. His appearances at the AMA's annual meetings were frequent. He would talk about the sanctity of the doctor—patient relationship and the need to reduce red tape — soothing words unlikely to wake delegates from their slumbers.

It seems the political stripe does not really matter - as always it is simply competence and the ability to see through the spin from the Department of Health Bureaucrats.
I really hope the new incumbent has better luck and is able to keep those bureaucrats under control!